Scalable building control system, method, and apparatus

ABSTRACT

A scalable building control system comprising a plurality of network bridges and plurality of zone control systems each comprising one or more zone control devices and a load controller. Each zone control device is adapted to generate and transmit load control messages over a zone wireless network. The a load controller is adapted to receive the load control messages over the zone wireless network and control an electrically connected load device in response to the load control messages. Each of the plurality of network bridges is adapted to removably couple to at least one load controller of a zone wireless network to connect the zone control system as a node of a centralized wireless network. The network bridge is further adapted to transmit messages between the centralized wireless network and a connected load controller.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field

Aspects of the embodiments relate to building control systems, and morespecifically to a scalable building control system that can be scaled upfrom a single room control to a centralized control of an entirebuilding.

Background Art

Today's building control systems, such as lighting control systems, areeither distributed (i.e., standalone) or centralized. Standalone systemsare simple, inexpensive, and easy to install because they require noadvanced knowledge or programming. These standalone systems, however,typically lack advanced features such as time clock control or reportingand are therefore unsuitable for large building applications. Theadvanced control systems come rich with features. However, they come athigher cost and complexity and are difficult to install. These advancedcontrol systems require programming and expert designers with higherorder understanding of building automation systems.

This dichotomy means that product lines tend to focus on one extreme orthe other. Simple systems are not made feature-rich and complex systemsalways require an intelligent commissioning agent. The two system typesdo not cross-over, requiring consumers to reinstall complete systems toswitch one to another. Another undesired consequence is that as siterequirements change or if there are different requirements for differentportions of a site (the legal group in a commercial building needs moreflexibility than the engineering group, for example), then the sameproduct cannot be deployed throughout the site.

Accordingly, a need has arisen for scalable building control system thatcan be scaled up at any time from a single room control to an entirebuilding control.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the embodiments to substantially solve at least theproblems and/or disadvantages discussed above, and to provide at leastone or more of the advantages described below.

It is therefore a general aspect of the embodiments to provide systems,methods, and modes for a building control system that will obviate orminimize problems of the type previously described.

More particularly, it is an aspect of the embodiments to providesystems, methods, and modes for a scalable building control system thatcan be scaled up from a single room control to an entire buildingcontrol.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Further features and advantages of the aspects of the embodiments, aswell as the structure and operation of the various embodiments, aredescribed in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.It is noted that the aspects of the embodiments are not limited to thespecific embodiments described herein. Such embodiments are presentedherein for illustrative purposes only. Additional embodiments will beapparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) based on theteachings contained herein.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the embodiments, a scalable lightingcontrol system is provided comprising an in-room device, a loadcontroller, and a network bridge. The in-room device comprises awireless network interface configured for transmitting room controlmessages over a room wireless network. The load controller comprises awireless network interface configured for receiving the room controlmessages from the in-room devices over the room wireless network; abridge interface; and a power controller configured for electricallyconnecting to a lighting load. The network bridge is configured forremovably coupling to the load controller. The network bridge comprisesa wireless network interface configured for receiving centralizedcontrol messages over a centralized wireless network; and a loadinterface configured for connecting to the bridge interface of the loadcontroller and transmitting the centralized control messages to the loadcontroller. The load controller is configured for controlling thelighting load in response to the room control messages received from thein-room device and the centralized control messages received from thenetwork bridge.

According to further aspects of the embodiment, the in-room device maycomprise a lighting control device including a user interface configuredfor receiving room control messages from a user. Additionally, thein-room device may comprise an occupancy sensor configured for detectingan occupancy status of a room and generating room control messages basedon the detected occupancy status. The in-room device may furthercomprise a light sensor configured for detecting natural lightintensities in a room and generating room control messages based on thedetected natural light intensities.

According to an embodiment, the power controller of the load controllermay comprise a switch configured for switching the connected lightingload on and off. According to another embodiment, the power controllerof the load controller may comprise a dimmer configured for providing adimmed voltage output signal to the connected lighting load.

According to an embodiment, the load controller may comprise a powersupply configured for receiving power from a power source and poweringthe network bridge via the bridge interface. The bridge interface of theload controller may comprise a port and the load interface of thenetwork bridge may comprise a plug. Alternatively, the load interface ofthe network bridge may comprise a port and the bridge interface of theload controller may comprise a plug.

According to an embodiment, the room wireless network may comprise apeer-to-peer radio frequency mesh wireless network. The centralizedwireless network may comprise a radio frequency mesh wireless network.Furthermore, the room wireless network may comprise a low latency lowbandwidth wireless network configured for substantially real-timecommunication. The centralized wireless network may comprise latency andbandwidth higher than the latency and bandwidth of the room wirelessnetwork. According to an embodiment, the centralized wireless networkmay comprise a high latency high bandwidth wireless network configuredfor transmitting large amount of data over the centralized wirelessnetwork.

According to an embodiment, the load controller may comprise a memoryconfigured for maintaining a room status report comprising informationabout the lighting load and the in-room device. The load controller maytransmit the room status report to the network bridge for transmissionover the centralized wireless network. The information about thelighting load and the in-room device may comprise at least one of achannel of the room wireless network, type of the in-room device, typeof available output and input of the in-room device, a number of in-roomdevices in a room, a number of lighting loads in the room, status of thelighting load, status of the in-room device, and any combinationsthereof.

According to an embodiment, the load controller may comprise a housingcomprising a threaded nipple configured for mounting the load controllerto a junction box. The load controller may further comprise a recess andthe network bridge may comprise a housing sized and shaped to berecessed within the recess of the load controller. The network bridgemay be retained within the recess using hooks. The recess may comprise aport connected to the bridge interface and configured for receiving aplug connected to the load interface of the network bridge. The networkbridge may comprise a Bluetooth module configured for communication witha mobile device.

According to an embodiment, the scalable lighting control system furthercomprises a control processor configured for transmitting centralizedcontrol messages to the network bridge over the centralized wirelessnetwork. The control processor may be configured for connecting to aplurality of network bridges. The control processor may be connected tothe centralized wireless network via one or more wireless gateways. Theload controller may comprise a memory configured for maintaining a roomstatus report comprising information about the lighting load and thein-room device, which it may transmit to the network bridge fortransmission to the control processor over the centralized wirelessnetwork. According to an embodiment, the control processor may comprisea user interface configured for receiving centralized control messagesfrom a user. The control processor may further comprise a networkinterface configured for receiving centralized control messages from aremote server.

According to an embodiment, the control processor may comprise atimeclock and a memory configured for storing a plurality of timedevents. The control processor may generate centralized control messagesfor transmission to the network bridge based on the plurality of timedevents. Additionally, the control processor may be configured fortransmitting a firmware update to the network bridge; the network bridgemay be configured for receiving the firmware update and storing thefirmware update as firmware images on a memory; the network bridge maytransmit the firmware images to the load controller; and the loadcontroller may transmit the firmware images to the in-room device.

According to another aspect of the embodiments, a method executed by aload controller of a scalable lighting control system is provided,wherein the load controller comprises a wireless network interfacesconfigured for communicating over a room wireless network, a bridgeinterface configured for removably coupling to a network bridge, and apower controller configured for electrically connecting to a lightingload. The method comprises the steps of: (i) receiving room controlmessages over the room wireless network from one or more in-roomdevices; (ii) controlling the lighting load in response to the roomcontrol messages; (iii) detecting a connection to the network bridge viathe bridge interface, wherein the network bridge is configured forreceiving centralized control messages from a centralized wirelessnetwork; (iv) receiving the centralized control messages from thenetwork bridge; and (v) controlling the lighting load in response to thecentralized control messages.

According to another aspect of the embodiments, a scalable lightingcontrol system is provided comprising a plurality of room lightingcontrol systems each comprising: one or more in-room devices eachconfigured for transmitting room control messages over a room wirelessnetwork; and a load controller configured for receiving the room controlmessages from the in-room devices over the room wireless network andcontrolling an electrically connected lighting load in response to theroom control messages. The scalable lighting control system furthercomprises a plurality of network bridges each configured for removablycoupling to at least one load controller of a room lighting controlsystem to connect the room lighting control system as a node of acentralized wireless network, wherein each network bridge is configuredfor receiving centralized control messages over the centralized wirelessnetwork and transmitting the centralized control messages to a connectedload controller, wherein the connected load controller is configured forcontrolling an electrically connected lighting load in response to thecentralized control messages.

According to an embodiment, the one or more in-room devices may compriseat least one of a lighting control device, an occupancy sensor, a lightsensor, and any combinations thereof. The scalable lighting controlsystem may further comprise a control processor configured fortransmitting centralized control messages to the plurality of networkbridges over the centralized wireless network. The control processor maybe configured for transmitting a firmware update to the plurality ofnetwork bridges; each network bridge may be configured for receiving thefirmware update and storing the firmware update as firmware images on amemory; each network bridge may transmit the firmware images to aconnected load controller; and the connected load controller maytransmit the firmware images to the in-room device.

According to another aspect of the embodiments, a scalable lightingcontrol system is provided comprising a plurality of room lightingcontrol systems each comprising: one or more in-room devices eachconfigured for transmitting room control messages over a room wirelessnetwork; and a load controller configured for receiving the room controlmessages from the in-room devices over the room wireless network andcontrolling an electrically connected lighting load in response to theroom control messages. The scalable lighting control system may furthercomprise a plurality of network bridges each configured for removablycoupling to at least one load controller of a room lighting controlsystem to connect the room lighting control system as a node of acentralized wireless network, wherein each network bridge is configuredfor receiving status information from a connected load controller andtransmitting the status information over the centralized wirelessnetwork.

According to another aspect of the embodiments, a scalable lightingcontrol system is provided comprising a plurality of room lightingcontrol systems each comprising one or more in-room devices eachconfigured for transmitting room control messages over a room wirelessnetwork; and a load controller configured for receiving the room controlmessages from the in-room devices over the room wireless network andcontrolling an electrically connected lighting load in response to theroom control messages. The scalable lighting control system furthercomprises a plurality of network bridges each configured for removablycoupling to at least one load controller of a room lighting controlsystem to connect the room lighting control system as a node of acentralized wireless network, wherein each network bridge is configuredfor transmitting messages between the centralized wireless network and aconnected load controller.

According to another aspect of the embodiments, a scalable lightingcontrol system is provided comprising a control processor, a pluralityof room lighting control systems, and a plurality of network bridges.The control processor is connected via a wireless network interface to acentralized wireless network and configured for transmitting centralizedcontrol messages. Each of the plurality of room lighting control systemscomprises one or more in-room devices and a load controller. Each of theone or more in-room devices comprises a wireless network interfaceconfigured for transmitting room control messages over a room wirelessnetwork. The load controller comprises a wireless network interfaceconfigured for receiving the room control messages from the in-roomdevices over the room wireless network; a bridge interface; and a powercontroller configured for electrically connecting to a lighting load andconfigured for controlling the lighting load in response to the roomcontrol messages received from the in-room devices. Each of theplurality of network bridges is configured for removably coupling to atleast one load controller of a room lighting control system to connectthe room lighting control system to the control processor over thecentralized wireless network. Each network bridge comprises: a wirelessnetwork interface configured for receiving the centralized controlmessages from the control processor over the centralized wirelessnetwork; and a load interface configured for connecting to a bridgeinterface of a load controller and transmitting the centralized controlmessages to the connected load controller. The connected load controlleris configured for controlling an electrically connected lighting load inresponse to the centralized control messages received from the connectednetwork bridge.

According to another aspect of the embodiments, a scalable lightingcontrol system is provided comprising: a lighting control device, adedicated network bridge power supply, and a network bridge. Thelighting control device comprises: a user interface configured forreceiving room control messages from a user; a load controllerconfigured for electrically connecting to a lighting load; and awireless network interface configured for communicating over a roomwireless network. The dedicated network bridge power supply comprises: awireless network interface configured for communicating over the roomwireless network; a power supply; and a bridge interface. The networkbridge is configured for removably coupling to the dedicated networkbridge power supply and comprises: a wireless network interfaceconfigured for receiving centralized control messages over a centralizedwireless network; and a load interface configured for connecting to thebridge interface for receiving power from the dedicated network bridgepower supply and transmitting the centralized control messages to thededicated network bridge power supply. The lighting control device isconfigured for controlling the lighting load in response to the roomcontrol messages received from the in-room devices and the centralizedcontrol messages received from the dedicated network bridge powersupply.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and features of the embodiments will becomeapparent and more readily appreciated from the following description ofthe embodiments with reference to the following figures. Differentaspects of the embodiments are illustrated in reference figures of thedrawings. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosedherein are to be considered to be illustrative rather than limiting. Thecomponents in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, emphasisinstead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of theaspects of the embodiments. In the drawings, like reference numeralsdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a room lighting control system according to anillustrative aspect of the embodiments.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative block diagram of a lighting control deviceaccording to an illustrative aspect of the embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative block diagram of a load controller and anetwork bridge according to an illustrative aspect of the embodiments.

FIG. 4A illustrates a perspective front view of the load controller, acover, and the network bridge according to an illustrative aspect of theembodiments.

FIG. 4B illustrates a perspective rear view of the network bridgeaccording to an illustrative aspect of the embodiments.

FIG. 4C illustrates a perspective front view of the network bridgeconnected to the load controller according to an illustrative aspect ofthe embodiments.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative block diagram of a centralized lightingcontrol system according to an illustrative aspect of the embodiments.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative schematic diagram of a network setup screenaccording to an illustrative aspect of the embodiments.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative schematic diagram of a dashboard screenaccording to an illustrative aspect of the embodiments.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative room rollout window according to anillustrative aspect of the embodiments.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative room control window according to anillustrative aspect of the embodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates another embodiment of a room lighting control systemaccording to an illustrative aspect of the embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments are described more fully hereinafter with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the inventive conceptare shown. In the drawings, the size and relative sizes of layers andregions may be exaggerated for clarity. Like numbers refer to likeelements throughout. The embodiments may, however, be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the inventive concept to those skilled in the art.The scope of the embodiments is therefore defined by the appendedclaims. The detailed description that follows is written from the pointof view of a control systems company, so it is to be understood thatgenerally the concepts discussed herein are applicable to varioussubsystems and not limited to only a particular controlled device orclass of devices.

Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included inat least one embodiment of the embodiments. Thus, the appearance of thephrases “in one embodiment” on “in an embodiment” in various placesthroughout the specification is not necessarily referring to the sameembodiment. Further, the particular feature, structures, orcharacteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS FOR THE ELEMENTS IN THE DRAWINGS IN NUMERICALORDER

The following is a list of the major elements in the drawings innumerical order.

-   -   100 Room Lighting Control System(s)    -   101 Room(s)    -   102 Load Controller(s)    -   103 Lighting Control Device(s)    -   104 Occupancy Sensor(s)    -   105 Light Sensor(s)    -   106 Lighting Load(s)    -   107 Buttons    -   108 Receptacle(s)    -   109 Light Emitting Diode (LED)    -   110 Room Wireless Network    -   111 Wire Leads    -   112 Voltage Line    -   113 Load Line    -   115 Junction Box    -   120 Network Bridge(s)    -   122 Load Controller    -   125 Junction Box    -   201 Central Processing Unit (CPU)    -   202 Wireless Network Interface    -   204 User Interface    -   207 Memory    -   209 Status Light Indicator    -   210 Power Supply    -   301 Central Processing Unit (CPU)    -   302 Wireless Network Interface    -   304 User Interface    -   307 Memory    -   309 Status Light Indicator    -   310 General Purpose Input Output (GPIO)    -   311 Power Supply    -   312 Dimmer    -   313 Switch    -   315 Port    -   316 Alternating Current (AC) Power Signal    -   317 Dimmed Voltage Output Signal    -   318 Switched Hot Signal    -   319 Bridge Interface    -   321 Central Processing Unit (CPU)    -   322 Wireless Network Interface    -   323 Power Regulator    -   324 User Interface    -   325 Plug    -   326 Bluetooth Module    -   327 Memory    -   329 Status Light Indicator    -   330 Room Status Report    -   331 Power Signal    -   332 Firmware Images    -   402 Recess    -   403 Cavities    -   404 Front Surface    -   405 Housing    -   406 Threaded Nipple    -   407 Buttons    -   408 Light Emitting Diodes (LED)    -   409 Side Surfaces    -   410 Housing    -   412 Hooks    -   413 Button    -   414 LEDs    -   415 Cover    -   416 Hooks    -   417 Front Surface    -   418 Rear Surface    -   419 Side Surfaces    -   500 Centralized Lighting Control System    -   510 Centralized Wireless Network    -   515 Wireless Gateway(s)    -   516 Control Subnet(s)    -   517 Internet    -   518 Cloud Service/Server    -   520 Control Processor(s)    -   521 Corporate Network    -   600 Webpage    -   601 Network Setup Screen    -   602 “Setup” Button    -   603 “Network” Button    -   604 “Dashboard” Button    -   605 “Timeclock” Button    -   607 “Rediscover” Button    -   608 “Found Gateways” List    -   610 “Allow Joining” Button    -   611 “Add Room To System” Button    -   612 “Remove” Button    -   701 Dashboard Screen    -   702 Gear Icon    -   703 List Of Room Names    -   704 Light Icon    -   706 Error Icon    -   708 Occupancy Icon    -   710 Light Sensor Icon    -   712 Calendar Icon    -   801 Room Accordion Rollout Window    -   802 In-Room Devices    -   806 Error Icon    -   901 Room Control Window    -   902 Edit Icon    -   903 “Recall” Button    -   904 “Lighting Scene” Pull Down Menu    -   906 Light Sensor Radio Buttons    -   908 Occupancy Sensor Radio Buttons    -   910 Timeout Selection Fields    -   912 Notification Field    -   1000 Room Lighting Control System    -   1001 Room    -   1002 Dedicated Network Bridge Power Supply    -   1003 Lighting Control Device and Load Controller    -   1004 Occupancy Sensor    -   1005 Light Sensor    -   1006 Lighting Load    -   1007 Buttons    -   1010 Room Wireless Network    -   1012 Voltage Line    -   1013 Load Line    -   1015 Junction Box

List of Acronyms Used in the Specification in Alphabetical Order

The following is a list of the acronyms used in the specification inalphabetical order.

-   -   AC Alternating Current    -   ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit    -   AV Audiovisual    -   BAS Building Automation System    -   BMS Building Management System    -   CCO Contact Closure Output    -   CPU Central Processing Unit    -   DC Direct Current    -   EMS Energy Management System    -   GHz Gigahertz    -   GPIO General-Purpose Input/Output    -   GUI Graphic User Interface    -   HVAC Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning    -   Hz Hertz    -   ID Identification Number    -   IP Internet Protocol    -   LAN Local Area Network    -   LED Light Emitting Diode    -   mA Milliamps    -   OTA Over-The-Air    -   PAN Personal Area Network    -   PC Personal Computer    -   PIR Passive Infrared    -   RAM Random-Access Memory    -   RF Radio Frequency    -   RISC Reduced Instruction Set    -   ROM Read-Only Memory    -   SPI Serial Peripheral Interface    -   SSR Solid-State Relay    -   UID Unique Identification Number    -   USB Universal Serial Bus    -   V Volt    -   WPAN Wireless Personal Area Network

MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

For 40 years Crestron Electronics, Inc. has been the world's leadingmanufacturer of advanced control and automation systems, innovatingtechnology to simplify and enhance modern lifestyles and businesses.Crestron designs, manufactures, and offers for sale integrated solutionsto control audio, video, computer, and environmental systems. Inaddition, the devices and systems offered by Crestron streamlinestechnology, improving the quality of life in commercial buildings,universities, hotels, hospitals, and homes, among other locations.Accordingly, the systems, methods, and modes of the aspects of theembodiments described herein can be manufactured by CrestronElectronics, Inc., located in Rockleigh, N.J.

The different aspects of the embodiments described herein pertain to thecontext of building control systems, including building automationsystems (BAS), building management systems (BMS), and energy managementsystems (EMS), but are not limited thereto, except as may be set forthexpressly in the appended claims. The embodiments of the buildingmanagement system can be used in small, mid, or large scale residentialor commercial installations. While the embodiments are described hereinas being implemented for commercial building management, they are notlimited to such an implementation. The present embodiments may beemployed in other type of venues or facilities, including inresidential, retail, or nonprofit structures or venues. Additionally,the building control system described herein may manage and control anentire building and can be scaled up to manage an entire campus ofbuildings or scaled down to manage a single room, a floor, or a sectionof a floor, such as a department. Additionally, while the buildingcontrol system of the present embodiments is described below asmonitoring and controlling lighting, the building control system canmonitor and control numerous other types of electronic devices,including one or more of heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC), shading, security, appliances, door locks, and audiovisual (AV)equipment, among others.

The present embodiments provide scalable building control system with amodular architecture that can be scaled up from a single room control toa centralized control, for example of an entire building. Such ascalable lighting building control system can include load andreceptacle controllers, wall interfaces, and sensors. As will be furtherdescribed, the system can also include optional gateways, networkbridges, and processors for data reporting to allow building manages toexercise centralized control over rooms. The scalable building controlsystem of the present embodiments can be deployed without programming orwith only limited and simple programming. Additionally, the scalabilityof the building control system of the present embodiments makes it easyto design, simple to install, and inexpensive while capable ofdelivering high value.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a room lighting control system 100according to one embodiment. The room lighting control system 100 mayalso be referred to as a zone or a space lighting control system 100.According to an embodiment, the lighting control system 100 can operateas a room-based, standalone system. Lighting control system 100 may beinstalled in a room 101 and may comprise one or more of the followingdevices: one or more load controllers 102 and 122, a lighting controldevice 103, a receptacle 108, an occupancy sensor 104, a light sensor105, as well as other lighting control devices. The lighting controlsystem 100 may be installed in an office, classroom, conference room,residential room, or the like. The lighting control system 100 may beconfigured to control one or more lighting loads 106 within room 101over a room or zone based wireless network 110. A network bridge 120 maybe optionally installed in the room lighting control system 100, eitherduring initial installation or anytime at a later date, for scaling upthe room lighting control system 100 to a centralized lighting controlsystem for entire building control, as will be further described below.

One or more lighting control devices 103 may be installed in room 101.The lighting control device 103 is configured to serve as a userinterface to associated load controllers 102 in a space. In anillustrative embodiment, the lighting control device 103 may beconfigured to receive control commands directly from a user andwirelessly transmit the control commands to the load controller 102electrically connected the lighting load 106 to control the lightingload 106 based on the control commands.

The lighting control device 103 may be configured as a switch, a dimmer,a keypad, or another device configured for receiving control commandsfrom a user. A light switch can be used to control the on/off state ofthe lighting load 106. A dimmer may be configured to control the on/offstate of the lighting load 106 as well as to control a dimming level ofthe load 106. A keypad, such as the lighting control device 103illustrated in FIG. 1, may comprise a plurality of buttons 107. Thebuttons 107 may correspond to different lighting scenes, such as a dayscene and a night scene, with different dimming modes that may bepreconfigured by the user. The buttons 107 may also be configured tocontrol multiple load devices, such as a plurality of lighting loads106, as well as other type of loads such as shade or drapery devices,heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, audiovisual(AV) devices, or the like.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative block diagram of a lighting control device103. The control device 103 may include various circuit componentsconfigured for receiving control commands and transmitting commandswirelessly to a load controller 102, or other in-room devices.

Lighting control device 103 may comprise a power supply 210 configuredfor providing power to the various circuit components of the lightingcontrol device 103. In one embodiment, the lighting control device 103may be battery operated, for example, via a coin cell battery, such as aBR2032 coin cell battery. As such, the battery powered lighting controldevice 103 may be attached to any vertical surface, such as a wall,glass, sheetrock, or the like, with tape or mounting adhesive, withoutthe need of a mounting box, wires, or cutouts. The battery poweredlighting control device 103 may be also installed to a switch or gangbox using screws. In one embodiment, the battery powered lightingcontrol device 103 may comprise similar configuration to the batterypowered control device disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/342,639, filed Nov. 3, 2016, and titled “Battery Powered KeypadAssembly,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

In another embodiment, for applications where a battery powered unit isnot practical or desired, such as retrofit applications, one or more ofthe lighting control devices 103 may be powered by an electricalternating current (AC) power signal from an AC mains power source.Such lighting control device 103 may comprise leads suitable for makingline voltage connection. The AC powered lighting control device 103 maybe installed in a standard switch or gang box using screws. According toan embodiment, such AC powered control devices 103 may not directlycontrol a lighting load 106, but send control commands to a paired loadcontroller 102 via the room wireless network 110. In other embodiments,one or more of the AC powered control devices 103 may be directly wiredand control a load within room 101.

The lighting control device 103 may comprise a user interface 204, suchone or more buttons 107 (FIG. 1) in communication with micro-switches ortactile switches, through which the lighting control device 103 mayreceive control commands from a user to control an operation of a load,such as turn the load on or off, increase or decrease light levels ofthe load, recall a preset setting, or the like. These control commandsmay be transmitted to the load controller 102 over the room wirelessnetwork 110 to control its associated lighting load 106. The buttons 107may be also used to disable or enable operation of the occupancy sensor104 or the light sensor 105 in the room. The buttons 107 on the lightingcontrol device 103 may be also used for configuration purposes, such asto command the lighting control device 103 to join a network, bind thelighting control device 103 to other in-room devices, group the lightingcontrol device 103 into a group of in-room devices, enter into a scenesetting mode to configure preset lighting scenes, or the like.

The lighting control device 103 may also comprise at least one statuslight indicator 209, such as a multicolored light emitting diode (LED)109 (FIG. 1), configured for visually indicating the status of thelighting control device 103 to the user. For example, if a button 107 ispressed, the light indicator 209 may briefly light green. If the batterylevel is low (e.g., <5% life remaining) the light indicator 209 mayblink red three times. The light indicator 209 may also indicate whetherthe control device 103 is trying to join a network, when it isconfigured, or the like. Additional status light indicators may also beprovided, for example, to identify active switches or dimming levels.

Each lighting control device 103 can further comprise a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 201. CPU 201 can represent one or moremicroprocessors, and the microprocessors can be “general purpose”microprocessors, a combination of general and special purposemicroprocessors, or application specific integrated circuits (ASICs).Additionally, or alternatively, the CPU 201 can include one or morereduced instruction set (RISC) processors, video processors, or relatedchip sets. The CPU 201 can provide processing capability to execute anoperating system, run various applications, and/or provide processingfor one or more of the techniques and functions described herein. CPU201 can process various commands and perform operations requested by theload controller 102, such as allowing the lighting control device 103 tojoin the room based wireless network 110, receiving and processing usercontrol commands, determining battery voltage levels, or the like.

Each lighting control device 103 can further include a memory 207communicably coupled to the CPU 201, which can store data and executablecode. Memory 207 can represent volatile memory such as random-accessmemory (RAM), and/or nonvolatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM)or Flash memory. In buffering or caching data related to operations ofthe CPU 201, memory 207 can store data associated with applicationsrunning on the control processor 201. Memory 207 can store data files,software for implementing the functions on the control processor 201,and wireless connection information to establish the wireless network110.

Each lighting control device 103 may comprise a wireless networkinterface 202 configured for bidirectional wireless communication withother in-room devices, such as the load controller 102, on the roombased wireless network 110. According to an embodiment, the wirelessnetwork interface 202 may comprise a radio frequency (RF) transceiverconfigured for bidirectional wireless communication over a 2.4 GHzwireless network.

Referring back to FIG. 1, system 100 may further comprise sensors, suchas an occupancy sensor 104 and a light sensor 105, which may also bereferred to as lighting control devices. Sensors 104-105 may comprisesimilar components as shown in FIG. 2, including a wireless networkinterface 202, a CPU 201, and a memory 207. Sensors 104-105 may comprisea power supply 210 and may be battery operated or connected to linevoltage. Sensors 104-105 may also comprise a user interface 204, such asone or more buttons, configured for commanding the sensors 104-105 toenter into a test mode, battery check, network joining mode,commissioning mode, configuration mode, such as calibration mode,adjusting sensitivity, adjusting timeout, or the like. Sensors 104-105may further comprise light indicators 209, such as one or more lightemitting diodes (LEDs), to display a status of the sensors 104-105. Forexample, the light indicator 209 may indicate when the sensor is tryingto join a network, when it is configured, when motion is detected, whena battery is low, or the like.

An occupancy sensor 104 detects the occupancy state of the room 101 andgenerates an occupancy signal based on the occupancy state of thatmonitored area. For example, the occupancy sensor 104 can generate abinary signal with one logical level representing an occupied state andthe another logic level representing a vacant state. Occupancy sensor104 may include various circuit components, as discussed above,configured for receiving control commands and transmitting commandswirelessly to a load controller 102, or other in-room devices. Eachoccupancy sensor 104 can further comprise an occupancy sensing module,such as a passive infrared (PIR) element, configured to detect motion. AFresnel lens covers the infrared sensor for focusing the light to theinfrared sensor and dividing the field-of-view into sensor zones. Theinfrared element may generate a signal based on sensed infraredradiation of the monitored area. The signal from the detector may be fedthrough low pass filters and into a window comparator. Motion willtrigger the signal to move outside window comparator threshold andgenerate an interrupt to wake the CPU of the sensor 104. In addition, oralternatively, each occupancy sensor can comprise an ultrasonic sensorto detect motion.

Occupancy determinations can be dependent on a number of settings of theoccupancy sensor, which can be preconfigured or configured throughphysical interfaces on the occupancy sensor 104 or remotely via agraphic user interface (GUI) or remote control. Additionally,sensitivity settings can be determined according to one or more factorssuch as time event, including time of day, day of week or month of year,a scheduled event, the current occupancy state of the monitored area, orthe occupancy state of another area. The sensitivity setting can bedetermined either locally at the occupancy sensor or at a network deviceand transmitted to the occupancy sensor. For example, the timeout periodof the occupancy sensor can be set. Additionally, the sensitivity of theindividual sensors can be set. Finally, the physical direction of thesensors operational range can be set by altering a mask of the occupancysensor.

Occupancy sensor 104 may be configured to operate in various modes, suchas an “Occupancy” mode, a “Vacancy” mode, or can be switched between thetwo depending upon implementation. For example, the sensor 104 maycontain a dedicated button, ora button combination, configured fortoggling the sensor 104 between the “Occupancy” mode and the “Vacancy”mode. In the “Occupancy” mode, lights are generally off. Lightsautomatically turn on when the room is occupied and automatically turnoff when the room is vacant. During the “Occupancy” mode, lights willremain on for as long as motion is detected by the occupancy sensor 104.In the “Vacancy” mode, lights are generally off and must be manuallyturned on via the lighting control device 103 by someone walking intothe room. After the occupancy sensor detects occupancy, the occupancysensor 104 is configured to detect vacancy—i.e., whether the room hasbeen vacated. The lights automatically turn off when the room becomesvacated.

A light sensor 105 may be configured for detecting and measuring naturallight intensities in the room 101 to enable daylight harvestingapplications. Light sensor 105 may monitor natural daylight from windowsand communicate the detected light intensity to the load controller 102.The load controller 102 may raise or lower the lighting load 106according to natural light fluctuations, reducing energy usage whilemaintaining a consistent light level for a more efficient andcomfortable work or living space. Light sensor 105 may include variouscircuit components, as discussed above, configured for receiving controlcommands and transmitting commands wirelessly to a load controller 102,or other in-room devices. In addition, the light sensor 104 may comprisea light sensing module configured for detecting light levels. Accordingto an embodiment, light sensor can comprise a dual-loop photosensorhaving two internal photocells with 0-65535 lux (0-6089 foot-candles)light sensing, one for open-loop daylight sensing and one forclosed-loop ambient light sensing to measures light intensity fromnatural daylight and ambient light sources. The light sensor 105 maycomprise a sideways facing sensor to determine sunlight levels. Thelight sensor 105 may be installed near a sunlit window with theopen-loop sensor (or side sensor) facing the window.

The lighting control system 100 may further comprise other types ofsensors, such as infrared sensors, photosensors, ultrasonic sensors,various motion sensors, occupancy sensors, proximity sensors, soundsensors, microphones, ambient temperature sensors, or the like.

The lighting control system 100 may further comprise one or more load orzone controllers 102 and 122 installed in the room 101. Load controller102 may receive control messages from in-room devices, such as thelighting control device 103, occupancy sensor 104, and light sensor 105,in the room lighting control system 100 to control its associatedlighting load 106. Although a single load controller 102 is illustrated,the lighting control system 100 may comprise a plurality of loadcontrollers, such as load controllers 102 and 122, connected torespective loads within room 101. Each load controller 102 may begrouped with particular control devices 103, occupancy sensors 104, andlight sensors 105 located within room 101.

Each load controller 102 may be mounted to a conventional four-inchjunction box 115 in the ceiling via a conduit knockout and may comprisea plurality of wire leads 111 extending into the junction box 115. Theload controller 102 may comprise a hot wire and a neutral wire connectedvia a voltage line 112 to an alternating current (AC) power source, suchas an AC mains power source, to receive electric AC power signal. In anembodiment, the AC power source may comprise 120 Volt (V) 60 Hertz (Hz)AC mains residential power supply. In other embodiments, the AC powersource may supply power at a different voltage and/or frequency. Forexample, in another embodiment, the AC power source may supply 220V 50Hz AC mains power supply. The load controller 102 may be furtherconnected to a lighting load 106 via load line 113 to control thelighting load 106 in response to messages received from in-room devices,such as the lighting control device 103, occupancy sensor 104, and lightsensor 105.

In an alternative embodiment, instead of using a hard wiredconfiguration, the load controller 102 may comprise a plug-inconfiguration. The load controller 102 may comprise a plug forconnection to a wall receptacle to receive electric AC power signal froman AC power source. Additionally, the load controller 102 may comprise areceptacle for receiving a plug from a lighting load 106.

In various embodiments, the load controller may be connected to controlthe operation of other types of loads, including HVAC, shading,security, appliances, door locks, AV equipment, among others. Forexample, load controller 122, with similar configuration to loadcontroller 102, may be electrically connected to a receptacle 108 viajunction box 125 to power the receptacle 108 on or off. Certain buildingcodes require certain percentage of receptacles to be switched off whenthe room is unoccupied. The load controller 122 connected to thereceptacle 108 may turn off power to the receptacle 108 when the room101 becomes vacant and turn back on when the room 101 becomes occupied,as reported by the occupancy sensor 104. Load controller 122 maytransmit its status information to the network manager, such as loadcontroller 102.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative block diagram of a load controller 102(including load controller 122). The load controller 102 may includevarious circuit components configured for receiving commands andtransmitting commands wirelessly to various in-room devices, such asother load controllers, the lighting control device 103, occupancysensor 104, and light sensor 105. The load controller 102 may comprise apower supply 311 connected to the voltage line 112 for receiving anelectric AC power signal 316 from an AC mains power source. The powersupply 311 may comprise circuit components configured for converting theincoming AC power signal to a direct current (DC) power signal. Forexample, the power supply 311 may comprise a bridge rectifier thatrectifies the AC voltage signal and converts it into a rectified DCvoltage signal. The bridge rectifier may comprise four or more diodes ina bridge circuit configuration which provides the same polarity outputfor either polarity input of the AC signal. The power supply 311 mayalso comprise a power regulator configured for maintaining asubstantially constant voltage level to stabilize the DC voltage signalused by the circuit elements of the load controller 102.

The load controller 102 may comprise a user interface 304, such one ormore buttons, configured for commanding the load controller 102 to enterinto a test mode, a setup mode, or the like. For example, the buttonsmay be used to command the load controller 102 to form the room wirelessnetwork 110 or join an existing room wireless network 110. The loadcontroller 102 may further comprise a status light indicator 309, suchas one or more LEDs, for use during setup, maintenance, troubleshooting,or the like. For example, the status light indicator 309 can indicatethe current state of the lighting load 106.

The load controller 102 can further comprise a CPU 301. CPU 301 canrepresent one or more microprocessors, and the microprocessors can be“general purpose” microprocessors, a combination of general and specialpurpose microprocessors, or ASICs. Additionally, or alternatively, theCPU 301 can include one or more RISC processors, video processors, orrelated chip sets. The CPU 301 can provide processing capability toexecute an operating system, run various applications, and/or provideprocessing for one or more of the techniques and functions describedherein. CPU 301 can process various commands and perform operations inresponse to messages received from in-room devices to control thelighting load 106.

The load controller 102 can further include a memory 307 communicablycoupled to the CPU 301, which can store data and executable code. Memory307 can represent volatile memory such as RAM, but can also includenonvolatile memory, such as ROM or Flash memory. In buffering or cachingdata related to operations of the CPU 301, the memory 307 can store dataassociated with applications running on the control processor 301.Memory 307 can store data files, software for implementing the functionson the control processor 301, and wireless connection information toestablish the wireless network 110.

The load controller 102 may further comprise a wireless networkinterface 302 configured for bidirectional wireless communication withother in-room electronic devices, such as the lighting control devices103 and light sensors 104, over the room based wireless network 110. Thewireless network interface 302 may comprise a radio frequency (RF)transceiver configured for bidirectional wireless communication over a2.4 GHz wireless network.

The load controller 102 may be a dimming load controller and/or aswitching load controller. The load controller may comprise a switch 313configured for switching a connected lighting load 106, or other loadtype, on or off by providing a switched hot signal 318 to the load.According to one embodiment, switch 313 may comprise anelectromechanical relay configured for switching the lighting load 106on or off. An electromechanical relay may use an electromagnet tomechanically operate a switch. In another embodiment, a solid-staterelay (SSR) may be used to switch the lighting load 106 on or off. TheSSR may comprise semiconductor devices, such as thyristors (e.g., TRIAC)and transistors, to switch currents up or down.

In addition, or alternatively, the load controller 102 may comprise adimmer 312 configured for providing a dimmed voltage output signal 317to a connected lighting load 106. For example, the dimmer 312 of theload controller 102 may reduce its output based on sunlight levelsreported by the light sensor 104. According to an embodiment, the dimmer312 may comprise a solid-state dimmer for dimming different types oflighting loads 106, including incandescent, fluorescent, LED, or thelike. According to an embodiment, the dimmer 312 may comprise a 0-10V DCdimmer to provide a dimmed voltage output to an LED lighting load, afluorescent lighting load, or the like. In one embodiment, the dimmer312 may comprise the sinking and sourcing dimmer circuit disclosed inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/336,381, filed Oct. 27, 2016, andtitled “Dimmer Configured for Providing Sinking and Sourcing, CurrentOutputs,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

The load controller 102 may further comprise a port 315, such as aSerial Peripheral Interface (SPI) port, a Universal Serial Bus (USB)port, or the like. Port 315 may be configured for connecting the loadcontroller 102 to a network bridge 120 as will be further describedbelow.

In another embodiment, the port 315 may be used to connect the loadcontroller 102 to other types of systems. The port 315 may comprise ageneral-purpose input/output (GPIO) generic pin 310 configured forconnecting the load controller 102 to other types of systems. Forexample, the GPIO pin 310 may be used to connect the load controller 102to a relay module, such as a Contact Closure Output (CCO) relay module.The relay module may plug into the port 315 on any load controller thesame way as discussed below with respect to the network bridge 120. Therelay module may be used to provide control commands to other type ofbuilding equipment, such as an HVAC controller. The relay module mayprovide an optional contact closure interface to inform other system ofthe state of the room 101, i.e., occupied or vacant. This may be used toenable or disable HVAC in the room. For example, the load controller 102may drive the relay module on when it receives an occupied state anddrive the relay module off when it receives a vacant state based on thereported occupancy sensor state.

In another embodiment, the GPIO pin 310 may be used to connect the loadcontroller 102 to an Audiovisual (AV) bridge to enable interactionsbetween an AV system and the room control system 100. The AV bridge maycomprise an interface for communication to an AV system, such as anRS-232 serial port. Through the GPIO pin 310 the load controller 102 mayprovide the state of the room 101, such as its vacancy/occupancy status,light levels, light scenes, or the like, to an AV system. Additionally,the load controller 102 may receive control commands from the AV system,for example, to recall a lighting scene, ignore sensor output for adefined period of time, raise or lower light levels, or the like.

Referring to FIG. 1, the various in-room devices, including the loadcontrollers 102 and 122, lighting control device 103, occupancy sensor104, and light sensor 105, may intercommunicate with each other usingthe room based wireless network 110. In one embodiment, the roomwireless network 110 can comprise one or more wireless personal areanetworks (WPANs). The room wireless network 110 may comprise apeer-to-peer wireless network, for example, such that sensor 104 on theceiling can directly communicate with load controller 102 or lightingcontrol device 103. The room wireless network 110 may comprise a 2.4 GHzpeer-to-peer radio frequency (RF) mesh network topology, where everyin-room device may act as an “expander”, relaying wireless commandsdirectly between the in-room devices until the commands reach theirintended destination. Each in-room device that is added to the room 101increases the range and stability of the peer-to-peer mesh network byproviding multiple redundant signal paths. According to an embodiment,the wireless range between any two in-room devices in the room wirelessnetwork 110 may comprise a range of about 50 ft.

In an embodiment, the room wireless network 110 of the lighting controlsystem 100 between the in-room devices is automatically formed uponinstallation during a wireless network initialization process. Thein-room devices can communicate directly with each other via a pairingprocess—e.g., tapping buttons on the load controllers 102/122, lightingcontrol device 103, occupancy sensor 104, and light sensor 105 linksthese devices together to form the in-room wireless network 110.

According to an embodiment, each load controller in room 101 may act asa router and can take the role of the network coordinator configured forforming the in-room wireless network 110. In rooms with more than oneload controller, one load controller, such as load controller 102, maybe assigned to be the network coordinator. The load controller 102 maycontain a button which commands it to form the network 110. In response,the load controller 102 will act as the network coordinator and willpick the best channel and select a random personal area network (PAN)identification number (ID) that will be used for message exchange overthe room wireless network 110. The load controller 102 will thenestablish the room wireless network 110 and may then permit the otherin-room devices to join the network 110. To join the room based network110, the other in-room devices can comprise dedicated buttons, or buttoncombinations, configured for commanding the devices to join the network110. In response, the devices will initiate a network scan to search forbest available network. If a network is available and permits devices tojoin it, the in-room device will perform an association to that network,for example by sending a join request to the network coordinator andreceiving a join confirmation message from the network coordinator.According to an embodiment, the in-room device will undergo a securityprocedure for authentication. If authentication is successful, thein-room device can start acting as an end device.

According to an embodiment, initially the load controller 102 that formsthe network (i.e., the network coordinator) may act as network manager.The network manager may act as a trust center for newly joining devices,take part in routing or re-broadcasting messages, and change channel andnotify other in-room devices to change channel based on detection ofinterference. The load controller 102 acting as network manager maybroadcast network manager synchronization messages to notify other loadcontrollers in the room 101 (e.g., 122) that it is still active andacting as a network manager. This will help other load controllers 122to detect whether the network manager is alive or not.

Other load controllers in the room 101, such as load controller 122, mayact as routers by routing messages between in-room devices, taking partin re-broadcasting messages, and notifying the network manager in casesof interference detection. Load controllers that are not networkmanagers may discover and synchronize with the network manager and actas trust centers for newly joining devices. Load controllers that act asrouters can act as a backup network manager if the coordinator dies orbecomes not functional. These load controllers may detect loss of anetwork manager, for example, upon losing a predetermined number ofconsecutive network manager synchronization messages from an activenetwork manager, and in response, take up the role of a network managerand notify other in-room devices about its new role.

After network formation, the lighting control system 100 can function asa standalone room based control system within a single room 101 suchthat the system 100 can respond to sunlight levels, occupancy, buttonpresses, and any integration points through a corresponding loadcontroller 102.

The load controller 102 may maintain a room status report 330 (FIG. 3)in its memory 307 including information about the in-room devices of theroom lighting control system 100. Each in-room device may comprise aunique identification number (UID). During the configuration process, aswell as during the operation of the room lighting control system 100,each in-room device may report its UID to uniquely identify itself tothe load controller 102. The load controller 102 may maintain aninventory of the various in-room devices in room 101 according to theirUlDs in its memory 307. In various aspects of the embodiments, the loadcontroller 102 may record in the room status report 330 one or more ofthe following: the RF channel of the room wireless network 110, thenumber of total in-room devices located in the room 101, the number ofloads located in the room 101, the UID of each in-room device, and thegrouping or binding states of the in-room devices. The load controller102 may further record attribute data of each in-room device indicatingthe device type (i.e., sensor, control device, or the like), modelname/number, serial number, the type of available device outputs anduser inputs or settings it has available, or the like. According to anembodiment, the device type may be used to represent the capabilities ofthe device without having to look them up against a list of modelnumbers, such as all in-room devices have preset capabilities. Forexample, for a lighting control device 103, the load controller 102 mayrecord that it has an on/off operation, various scene settings, adimming operation, or the like.

During operation, the load controller 102 may keep track of the statusof the room 101 as reported by the various in-room devices and recordthe status in the room status report 330. For example, the loadcontroller 102 may record the status of the load (e.g., on/off andcurrent level that may be expressed as an analog value), daylight statusof the room 101 (e.g., illuminance measurement), occupancy status of theroom 101 (e.g., occupied/vacant), the operating status of the in-roomdevice (e.g., error, battery level, etc.), or the like. Sleepy devicesin room 101 may periodically send check-in messages to the loadcontroller 102 to inform the load controller 102 that the device isstill alive and working, inform of its status, battery level, errorreporting, or the like. The check-in can also be triggered by a buttonpress on the in-room device. For example, the load controller 102 cankeep track of the occupancy and vacancy messages received from eachoccupancy sensor 104 in an occupancy table and maintain the currentstate of each occupancy sensor 104 (i.e., occupied or vacant). Duringoperation, in response to receiving a room occupied signal, the loadcontroller 102 may turn the lighting load 106 on. In response toreceiving a room vacancy signal from all the occupancy sensors 104 thatpreviously reported a room occupied state, the load controller 102 mayturn its respective lighting load 106 off.

The standalone room lighting control system 100 shown in FIG. 1 isconfigured to operate as part of a centralized lighting control systemvia an addition of a network bridge 120. Without the network bridge 120,the room lighting control system 100 within room 101 stands alone. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 1, it can work as a standalone room lightingsystem 100 in a conference room 101 where the load controller 102receives messages from the wireless lighting control devices 103 andsensors 104-105 and control its associated lighting load 106, outlet108, or other types of loads, accordingly. A plurality of standaloneroom lighting control systems 100 can be scaled up to a centralizedlighting control system via the addition of a network bridge 120 to eachsuch lighting control system 100. The network bridge 120 connects to theload controller 102 to provide an interface for centralized monitoring,management and control of individual room lighting control system 100throughout a building. Accordingly, each room or space in a buildingcomprising a load controller 101 and a network bridge 120 becomes a nodeof a centralized lighting control system. Each network bridge 120provides a single point of control and reporting for each connected roomor space. According to an embodiment, the network bridge 120 adds asecond wireless network interface to the load controller 102 to connectthe load controller 102 to a separate wireless network, on top of theroom wireless network 110. As such, each network bridge 120 in each roomprovides the ability for multiple room lighting control systems 100 tobe monitored and controlled by a centralized lighting control system,allowing the system to grow exponentially and to be managed centrally.Beneficially, the cost of transforming the room lighting control system100 into a centralized lighting control system is only incurred when acustomer adds the network bridge 120.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 4A-4C, where FIG. 4A illustrates aperspective front view of the load controller 102, a cover 415, and thenetwork bridge 120, FIG. 4B illustrates a perspective rear view of thenetwork bridge 120, and FIG. 4C illustrates a perspective front view ofthe network bridge 120 connected to the load controller 102. The loadcontroller 102 may comprise a rectangular housing 405 comprising a frontsurface 404, a rear surface (not shown), and side surfaces 409. Thehousing 405 may be made of plastic, or any other material known in theart. According to an embodiment, the housing 405 may be sized anddimensioned to fit within a standard junction box. Accordingly, the loadcontroller 102 may be mounted within a junction box adjacent to junctionbox 115 when required by code. A side surface 409 of the housing 405 maycomprise a threaded nipple 406 extending therefrom and configured forfitting through a conduit knockout in the junction box 115 to secure theload controller 102 to the junction box 115, for example, via a screwnut. The front surface 404 of the housing 405 may comprise buttons 407as the user interface 304 and LEDs 408 as the status light indicator 309discussed above.

The front surface 404 of housing 405 of the load controller 102 mayfurther comprise a rectangular shaped recess 402 containing the port 315and cavities 403. When the network bridge 120 is not in connected, therecess 402 of the load controller 102 may be covered via a cover 415containing hooks 416 configured to be retained by the cavities 403 inthe recess 402. The cover 415 may be removed to connect the networkbridge 120 to the load controller 102.

The network bridge 120 may comprise a rectangular housing 410 comprisinga front surface 417, a rear surface 418, and side surfaces 419. Thefront surface 417 of the housing 410 may comprise a user interface, suchas a button 413, and a status light indicator, such as an LED 414. Therear surface 418 of the housing 410 may comprise a plug 325 and hooks412. Plug 325 may comprise an SPI plug, a USB plug, or the like.

According to an embodiment, to connect the network bridge 120 to theload controller 102, the housing 410 of the network bridge 120 is atleast partially inserted into recess 402 of the load controller 102, asshown in FIG. 4C. The housing 410 of the network bridge is sized anddimensioned to be recessed within the recess 402 of the housing 405 ofthe load controller 102. The plug 325 of the network bridge 120 connectsto port 315 of the load controller 102 allowing bidirectionalcommunication between the two components. The hooks 412 of the networkbridge 120 are retained by the cavities 403 of the load controller 102to maintain the network bridge 120 connected to the load controller 102.Although a rectangular junction box 102 and network bridge 120 areillustrated, other shapes may also be used. Alternatively, the loadcontroller 102 may contain the plug 325 and the network bridge 120 maycontain the port 315.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown an illustrative block diagram of thenetwork bridge 120. The network bridge 120 may comprise a plug 325, asdiscussed above, such as an SPI plug, a USB plug, or the like. Plug 325of the network bridge 120 is configured for connecting to port 315 ofthe load controller 102 via a bridge interface 319, such as a businterface, to provide electrical communication between the networkbridge 120 and the load controller 102. The network bridge 120 mayfurther comprise a power regulator 323 configured for maintaining asubstantially constant voltage level to stabilize the DC voltage signalused by the circuit elements of the network bridge 120. According to anembodiment, the power regulator 323 receives a power signal 331 from thepower supply 311 of the load controller 102 through the bridge interface319. As such, the load controller 102 is configured to provide power tothe network bridge 120. The power signal 331 may comprise a 60 mA, 3.3Vpower signal.

The network bridge 120 may further comprise a user interface 324, suchas a button 413, configured for commanding the network bridge 120 toenter into a test mode, a setup mode, a commissioning mode, or the like.The network bridge 120 may further comprise a status light indicator329, such as an LED 414, for use during set up, maintenance, andtroubleshooting.

The network bridge 120 further comprises a wireless network interface322 configured for bidirectional wireless communication with acentralized wireless network. The wireless network interface 322 maycomprise a radio frequency (RF) transceiver configured for bidirectionalwireless communication over a 2.4 GHz wireless network.

The network bridge 120 can further comprise a CPU 321. CPU 321 canrepresent one or more microprocessors, and the microprocessors can be“general purpose” microprocessors, a combination of general and specialpurpose microprocessors, or ASICs. Additionally, or alternatively, theCPU 321 can include one or more RISC processors, video processors, orrelated chip sets. The CPU 321 can provide processing capability toexecute an operating system, run various applications, and/or provideprocessing for one or more of the techniques and functions describedherein. CPU 321 can process various commands and perform operations inresponse to messages received from the CPU 301 of the load controller102 or from the building wide network through the wireless networkinterface 322.

The network bridge 120 can further include a memory 327 communicablycoupled to the CPU 321, which can store data and executable code. Memory327 can represent volatile memory such as RAM, but can also includenonvolatile memory, such as ROM or Flash memory. In buffering or cachingdata related to operations of the CPU 321, the memory 327 can store dataassociated with applications running on the control processor 321.Memory 327 can store data files and software for implementing thefunctions on the control processor 321.

The network bridge 120 may further comprise a Bluetooth module 326configured for allowing connection with a mobile device, such as asmartphone, a tablet, or the like. The mobile device may comprise aproprietary mobile application or app configured for connecting themobile device to the network bridge 120 via the Bluetooth module 326.The mobile application may be used to commission the room wirelessnetwork 110 and configure or setup the in-room devices. For example,with the mobile application, installers can set scenes, create scheduledevents, and set up sensors. The network bridge 120 may query the loadcontroller 102 for the room status report 330 stored on the memory 307of the load controller 102 and deliver this information to the mobileapplication via the Bluetooth module 326, which can be used for roommonitoring, configuration, and control. According to various aspects ofthe embodiments, the mobile application may comprise similar screenswith similar setup and control functionally as illustrated in FIGS. 8and 9 and described below.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown an illustrative block diagram of acentralized lighting control system 500 according to an illustrativeaspect of the embodiments. The addition of network bridges 120 to aplurality of rooms 101 allows the plurality of individual room lightingcontrol systems 100 to be monitored and centrally controlled by acentralized lighting control system 500. The centralized control system500 may connect a few room lighting control systems 100, or may bescaled up to connect room lighting control systems 100 of an entirefloor, building, campus, or global corporate offices. According to anembodiment, each network bridge 120 connects its corresponding loadcontroller 102 to the centralized lighting control system 500 over acentralized wireless network 510.

The centralized wireless network 510 may comprise one or more wirelesspersonal area networks (WPANs). Communication protocols may govern theoperation of centralized wireless network 510 of the centralized controlsystem 500 by governing network formation, communication, interferences,and other operational characteristics. The centralized wireless network510 may comprise a 2-way 2.4 GHz radio frequency mesh network. Everywireless device on the centralized wireless network 510, including thenetwork bridges 120 and wireless gateways 515 may act as an expander torelay wireless commands ensuring every commands reaches its intendeddestination. Accordingly, each device that is added to the centralizedwireless network 510 increases the range and stability of the entirenetwork by providing multiple redundant signal paths. According to anembodiment, the wireless range between any two devices in thecentralized wireless network 510 may comprise a range of about 150 ft.

According to an embodiment, the room wireless network 110 and thecentralized wireless network 510 may operate on different protocols,different power strengths, different channels, different latency,different bandwidth, or the like. According to an embodiment, the roomwireless networks 110 may comprise a low latency low bandwidth wirelessnetwork configured for real-time communication of data between in-roomdevices. Accordingly, messages between in-room devices may betransmitted quickly for near immediate control of the room 101. On theother hand, the centralized wireless network 510 may comprise a highlatency high bandwidth wireless network configured for transmittinglarge amount of data over the centralized wireless network 510 to aplurality of rooms 101. Because of the modular architecture of thecentralized lighting control system 500, no real-time behavior isrequired by the centralized wireless network 510—enabling large amountof data to be transmitted over the centralized wireless network 510 tocontrol the operation of the individual rooms 101 while not effectingthe real-time operation of the in-room devices.

The plurality of network bridges 120 get rolled upon into thecentralized management platform that can run on one or more controlprocessors 520, but could equally be implemented on a personal computer(PC). For example, a building may comprise a plurality of controlprocessors 520, which may also be referred to as floor gateways or floorcontrol hubs, with one or more control processors 520 located on eachfloor of the building for central floor control. Each control processor520 may provide a single point of control for a plurality of roomlighting control systems 100.

Each control processor 520 may comprise a central processing unit (CPU),a memory, and a plurality of network interfaces. According to anembodiment, each control processor 520 can further include a wirelessnetwork interface configured for communication with one or more networkbridges 120 over the centralized wireless network 510 to network,manage, and control a plurality of network bridges 120. According toanother embodiment, the control processor 520 may include one or morecommunication network interfaces configured for communication over acontrol subnet 516 with one or more intermediate wireless gatewaydevices 515, which in turn communicate with one or more network bridges120 over the centralized wireless network 510. The one or morecommunication network interfaces may be further configured forcommunication over a corporate network 521 and/or the Internet 517.According to an embodiment, the communication network interface may bean Ethernet interface for sending and receiving signals over an InternetProtocol (IP) based network.

The network bridges 120 operate on the centralized wireless network 510by joining the network 510 and being acquired by the control processors520 during a wireless network initialization. According to oneembodiment, each control processor 520 may comprise a wireless networkinterface configured for directly connecting the network bridges 120 tothe control processor 520 over the centralized wireless network 510. Inanother embodiment, the centralized wireless network 510 may compriseone or more intermediate devices, such as routers or wireless gateways515 comprising wireless network interfaces that wirelessly connect tothe network bridges 120 via the centralized wireless network 510. Eachcontrol processor 520 may be connected to one or more intermediatewireless gateways 515 via a control subnet 516, such as a local areanetwork (LAN). In addition, wireless expanders can be added whereverneeded to extend the centralized wireless network 510 by filling-in gapsbetween devices.

Each network bridge 120 may be configured in a “ready to join networkmode” such that as soon as it is connected to and powered by the loadcontroller 102, it will enter an acquire mode. Once a control processor520 enters an acquire mode, the centralized wireless network 510 mayform. To initiate the acquire mode, a commissioning agent may manuallyinteract with the control processor 520 to form the centralized wirelessnetwork 510. The control processor 520 may broadcast an invitationmessage, and network bridges 120 within earshot may connect to thecontrol processor 520. In the instance a network bridge 120 may bewithin earshot of two control processors 520, the network bridge 120 mayselect a “best” control processor 520 to join, for example based onnetwork quality. As more network bridges 120 join the control processor520, the control processor 520 may gradually increase the power of thetransmitting messages. According to an embodiment, each network bridge120 may comprise a unique identification number (UID), which it mayreport to uniquely identify itself to one or more of the controlprocessors 520.

The control processors 520 provide centralized management for allconnected rooms 101. Applications that can run on the control processors520 can include, for example, software for initiating the centralizedwireless network 510 and software for managing the operation ofconnected rooms 101. Each control processor 520 may comprise anastronomical time clock enabling the control processor 520 to scheduleautomated timed events. Each control processor 520 may further aggregateinformation of all “network enabled” rooms and provide real-time statusinformation to users.

As discussed above, the network bridge 120 may interface with the loadcontroller 102 using a bridge interface 319, such as an SPI bus, a USBbus, or the like. The bridge interface 319 is used as a means totransfer data back and forth between the network bridge 120 and loadcontroller 102. According to an embodiment, once connected, the networkbridge 120 may act as a master controller for the bridge interface 319and the load controller may act in a slave mode. However, the loadcontroller 102 may be equipped with a host interrupt line to signal thenetwork bridge 120 of asynchronous communication originated from theload controller 102. Requests or control commands can be initiated fromany side (master or slave), however most of the time transactions may beinitiated by the master.

Upon connecting to the load controller 102, the network bridge 120 mayrequest the room status report 330, discussed above, includinginformation about all the current in-room devices in room 101 connectedto the load controller 102 over the room wireless network 110. The loadcontroller 102 may transmit the room status report 330 as a series ofdevice information frames, one for each reported device. The networkbridge 120 may in turn transmit the room status report 330 to thecontrol processor 520 during initiation, periodically, upon a devicestatus change (i.e. room becomes occupied, an error is detected, abattery needs to be replaced, etc.), and/or as requested by the controlprocessor 520. For example, in response to a request from a controlprocessor 520, the network bridge 120 may request the load controller102 for the last recalled room scene. The last scene may be stored onthe load controller 102 in the room status report 330 or can be recalledby the load controller 102 from the lighting control device 103.

According to one embodiment, the various in-room devices and the loadcontroller 102 may be initially installed in the room 101 without thenetwork bridge 120, form the room wireless network 110, and operate as aroom based lighting control system 100. Networking the rooms 101together can be achieved at a later date if the requirements change. Theroom control system 100 may be connected to the centralized lightingcontrol system 500 via a centralized wireless network 500 at a latertime by plugging-in the network bridge 120 to any one of the loadcontrollers 102 in room 101. The network bridge 120 is associated withthe room 101 in which it is installed. At that point, the network bridge120 allows communication between all networked rooms 101 and up to thecontrol processors 520. The network bridge 120 allows the system to growand be managed centrally.

According to another embodiment, during initial instillation, the loadcontroller 102 may be installed in the room 101 with the network bridge120 already plugged in. The centralized wireless network 510 and theroom wireless network 110 may be commanded to be formed via the controlprocessors 520. The network bridges 120 may receive a form networkrequest from the control processor 520, and command the load controller102 in the room to form the room wireless network 110.

In operation, the network bridge 120 allows users to monitor the statusof devices in individual rooms 101, receive and report error messages,and distribute room based commands sent from a control processor 520.The network bridge 120 amortizes all information in the room 101 andexposes it to the control processor 520 as a summarized, higher level,interface to the room 101. According to an embodiment, interface to eachroom 101 is simplified and abstracted away from the details of whatdevices are present in the room. For example, no matter what lightingcontrols, sensors, or keypads are present in the room 101, the networkbridge 120 exposes the same interface to the control processor 520,enabling it to operate at a higher level.

The network bridge 120 may receive various control commands from acontrol processor 520, for example, to recall a room scene. The roomwireless network 110 may also be managed through the control processor520, for example to remove in-room devices from the room wirelessnetwork 110.

According to an embodiment, the modular configuration of the centralizedlighting control system 500 also enables fast and efficient firmwareupdates across a plurality of devices on the network. During firmwareupdates, the load controller 102 may be configured to act as anover-the-air (OTA) server having the capability to upgrade and downgradesoftware or firmware of in-room devices connected to the load controller102 via the in-room wireless network 110. The control processor 520 maysend firmware images to the network bridges 120 in the centralizedwireless network 510. Each network bridge 120 may store firmware images332 (FIG. 3) received from the control processor in its memory 327.Effectively, the network bridge 120 acts as a buffer for firmware images332. The network bridge 120 may then send a firmware image transfer tothe load controller 102. According to an embodiment, the network bridge120 may postpone firmware image transfer until the state of the loadcontroller 102 is idle. If the load controller's 102 state is idle, itwill receive the firmware image transfer from the network bridge 120.The network bridge 120 may also indicate to the load controller 102which in-room target devices should be upgraded. The load controller 102may then transmit the firmware to the identified in-room target devices.

The control processors 520 may further provide connection between thenetwork bridges 120 and cloud service or server 518 via a corporatenetwork 521 and/or the Internet 517 for central building control andaggregation of building information. Cloud services 518 may aggregateinformation from a plurality of control processors 520 into acentralized management and control platform for an entire building orcampus. For example, the cloud service 518 may display a floorplan withstatus information of the building, provide historical data, reporting,notifications, or the like.

According to an embodiment, each control processor 520 may provide a webinterface allowing users of the system to log into the webpage and beexposed to all the functionally allowed by the control processor 520,for example to configure time clock events, among other functions. FIGS.6-9 illustrate exemplary schematic diagrams of a web interface to thecontrol processor 520 in the form of a webpage 600. The webpage 600 maycomprise four control buttons including a “Setup” button 602, a“Network” button 603, a “Dashboard” button 604, and a “Timeclock” button605. The webpage 600 may comprise a device setup screen (not shown)accessible through the selection of the “Setup” button 602. The devicesetup screen may allow the user to perform the following functions: namethe control processor, configure cloud service connection,add/delete/modify user accounts, and configure clock settings on theunit. The control processor 520 may have a latitude and longitude entry(or city/state) for the purpose of astronomic timeclock.

The “Timeclock” button 605 may be used to allow the user to scheduletime based events using a building scheduling page (not shown). In oneembodiment, the control processor 520 may utilize a building automationapplication disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/200,593,filed Jul. 1, 2016, and titled “Building Automation Scheduling Systemand Method,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

The webpage 600 may comprise a network setup screen 601 accessiblethrough the selection of the “Network” button 603. The network setupscreen 601 may allow the user to configure the IP address of the controlprocessor 520. This screen 601 may also allow for the centralizedwireless network 500 to enter into an acquire mode. The network setupscreen 601 may comprise a “Found Gateways” list 608 that lists wirelessgateway devices 515 automatically discovered by the control processor520. The network setup screen 601 may comprise a “Rediscover” button607, which upon selection is configured to command the control processor520 to discover gateway devices 515 and list them in a “Found Gateways”list 608. The found gateways may be acquired by the control processor520 using the “Allow Joining” button 610. According to an embodiment,all wireless gateway devices 515 on the control subnet 516 connected tothe control processor 520 may be considered a part of the controlprocessor's system. The screen 601 may also list all found networkbridges 120 wirelessly acquired by gateway devices 515. The user mayassociate the found network bridges 120 with a room by pressing the “AddRoom to System” button 611. Adding a found network bridge 120 to thesystem may display a floating popup window (not show) prompting the userto enter a room name. The user may remove network bridges 120 from thecentralized control system by pressing the “Remove” button 612.

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of a dashboard screen 701accessible through the selection of the “Dashboard” button 604. Thedashboard screen 701 may show the user a hierarchical view of the floor,rooms, and devices controlled by the control processor 520. Thedashboard screen 701 may comprise a list of room names 703 controlled bythe control processor. The dashboard screen 701 may further comprise aplurality of icons indicating various attributes or states under eachroom name. For example, a light icon 704 may indicate whether a light ison in the room, a light sensor icon 710 may indicate whether a lightsensor 105 is impacting the light level in the room, an occupancy icon708 indicating whether the room is occupied, a calendar icon 712indicating whether the room has a timeclock event scheduled for thefuture, an error icon 706 indicating whether any device within the roomhas an error associated with it. According to an embodiment, hoveringover an icon may display a floating popup window providing additionalinformation regarding the icon. For example, hovering over the erroricon 706 may display the most recent error, hovering over the occupancyicon 708 may display the time that the room has been occupied, hoveringover the light sensor icon 710 may display the amount of daylight beingseen in the room, and hovering over the calendar icon 712 may list thenext scheduled timed event and the scheduled action.

Clicking on a room name 703, for example “Room 1”, may pull down a roomaccordion rollout window 801 shown in FIG. 8. The rollout window 801 maylist various in-room devices 802 located in that room, includingindividual device information, such as their model name, serial number,and any relevant errors as indicated by an error icon 806. Statusinformation may also be displayed for each in-room device. For example,the load controller 102 may report its current light dimming level, theoccupancy sensor 104 may report its occupancy status, and the lightsensor 105 may report its visible daylight level.

Each room may also comprise a gear icon 702 configured for displaying aroom control window 901, as shown in FIG. 9, which may give a useroptions to control and rename the room. Room control window 901 mayallow for the user to assign and/or change a room name associated withthe network bridge 120 by clicking the edit icon 902. Room controlwindow 901 may further allow listing/editing/deleting timeclock eventsvia a “Recall” button 903. Room control window 901 may allow the user tochoose a lighting scene via a “Lighting Scene” pull down menu 904,enable/disable a light sensor via light sensor radio buttons 906,enable/disable an occupancy sensor via occupancy sensor radio buttons908, or the like. For example, a user may choose a “Room on” sceneconfigured for setting all load controllers 102 associated with thenetwork bridge 120 to go “on” immediately. Such a command may overrideany room based sensor or keypad messages. For the occupancy sensor 104,room control window 901 may provide a timeout selection fields 910indicating for how long the occupancy sensor 104 should be disabled.Room control window 901 may also provide a notification field 912indication as to the current state of the room 101 (e.g., occupied orunoccupied) so that the user does not turn off the lights in an occupiedroom by accident.

According to another embodiment, there are applications where a separateload controller 102 and a battery powered control device 103 are notdesired or impractical. For example, a small bathroom may alreadycomprise a standard switch or gang box directly wired to a lightingload. Referring to FIG. 10, there is shown a lighting control system1000. Instead of utilizing a separate load controller 102, the lightingcontrol device 1003 may comprise a load controller and be directly wiredto the lighting load 1006 via a load line 1013 to control the operationof the lighting load 1006.

According to an embodiment, the lighting control device 1003 may beinstalled into a standard switch box in a wall. It may comprise similarcomponents to the load controller 102 as shown in FIG. 3. The lightingcontrol device 1003 may include a CPU 301, and a memory 307. Thelighting control device 103 may include a user interface 304 in the formof buttons 1007 to control the connected load 1006. The lighting controldevice 1003 may also include a light indicator. The lighting controldevice 1003 may comprise a power supply 311 connected to a voltage lineto receive an electric AC power signal from an AC mains power source.The lighting control device 1003 may comprise a switch 313 and a dimmer312 to provide a relay output and a dimmed voltage output signal,respectively, to the lighting load via load line 1013. The lightingcontrol device 1003 may comprise a wireless network interface 302configured for communicating with other in-room devices, such as theoccupancy sensor 1004 and the light sensor 1005, over the wirelessnetwork 1010, as discussed above. For example, a dimmable lightingcontrol device 1003 may reduce its output based on the sunlight levelsreported by the light sensor 1004. The lighting control device 1003 mayact as a router and can take on the role of the network coordinator.

To add the room lighting control system 1000 to the centralized lightingcontrol system 500, a dedicated network bridge power supply 1002 may beutilized. The dedicated power supply 1002 may be used to mechanicallysecure and power a network bridge 120 in an application where nojunction box load controller 102 is used. The mounting enclosure of thededicated power supply 1002 may be substantially identical to a loadcontroller 102. The dedicated power supply 1002 may be mounted to anyexisting or installed junction box 1015 in room 1001 via a conduitknockout and may comprise wire leads to connect the dedicated powersupply 1001 to an AC power source via a voltage line 1012. The dedicatedpower supply 1002 may comprise similar components as the load controller102 shown in FIG. 3, except that the dedicated power supply 1002 may notcontain a dimmer 312 or a switch 313 for connection to a lighting load1006. The dedicated power supply 1002 may comprise a CPU 301, a memory307, a power supply 311, a user interface 304, a light indicator 309, awireless network interface 302, and a port 315. The dedicated powersupply 1002 is configured to provide power to the network bridge 120 viathe port 315.

The wireless network interface 302 is configured to connect thededicated power supply 1002 to the room wireless network 1010.Additionally, the dedicated power supply 1002 may maintain a room statusreport 330, as discuss above, in its memory 307 for gathering andretaining information about the in-room devices of the room lightingcontrol system 1000. According to an embodiment, upon installation, thededicated power supply 1002 may receive the room status report 330 fromthe lighting control device and load controller 1003. The dedicatedpower supply 1002 may relate the room status report 330 to the networkbridge 120 via the port 315 for centralized control management asdiscussed above. The network bridge 120 may receive centralized controlmessages from the centralized wireless network 500 and transmit thesemessages to the dedicated power supply 1002 via the port 315. Thededicated power supply 1002 may transmit the centralized controlmessages to the in-room devices, including the lighting control device1003.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The disclosed embodiments provide a system, software, and a method for ascalable building control system that can be scaled up from a singleroom control to an entire building control. It should be understood thatthis description is not intended to limit the embodiments. On thecontrary, the embodiments are intended to cover alternatives,modifications, and equivalents, which are included in the spirit andscope of the embodiments as defined by the appended claims. Further, inthe detailed description of the embodiments, numerous specific detailsare set forth to provide a comprehensive understanding of the claimedembodiments. However, one skilled in the art would understand thatvarious embodiments may be practiced without such specific details.

Although the features and elements of aspects of the embodiments aredescribed being in particular combinations, each feature or element canbe used alone, without the other features and elements of theembodiments, or in various combinations with or without other featuresand elements disclosed herein.

This written description uses examples of the subject matter disclosedto enable any person skilled in the art to practice the same, includingmaking and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporatedmethods. The patentable scope of the subject matter is defined by theclaims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled inthe art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of theclaims.

The above-described embodiments are intended to be illustrative in allrespects, rather than restrictive, of the embodiments. Thus theembodiments are capable of many variations in detailed implementationthat can be derived from the description contained herein by a personskilled in the art. No element, act, or instruction used in thedescription of the present application should be construed as criticalor essential to the embodiments unless explicitly described as such.Also, as used herein, the article “a” is intended to include one or moreitems.

Additionally, the various methods described above are not meant to limitthe aspects of the embodiments, or to suggest that the aspects of theembodiments should be implemented following the described methods. Thepurpose of the described methods is to facilitate the understanding ofone or more aspects of the embodiments and to provide the reader withone or many possible implementations of the processed discussed herein.The steps performed during the described methods are not intended tocompletely describe the entire process but only to illustrate some ofthe aspects discussed above. It should be understood by one of ordinaryskill in the art that the steps may be performed in a different orderand that some steps may be eliminated or substituted.

All United States patents and applications, foreign patents, andpublications discussed above are hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entireties.

ALTERNATE EMBODIMENTS

Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spiritor the scope of the different aspects of the embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A scalable building control system comprising: atleast one battery operated device comprising: a processor adapted togenerate load control messages; and a wireless network interface adaptedto transmit the load control messages over a first wireless network; aload controller electrically connected to an electric load device, theload controller comprising: a wireless network interface adapted toreceive the load control messages over the first wireless network; apower controller adapted to control the load device in response to thereceived load control messages; and a bridge interface; a network bridgeadapted to couple to the load controller, the network bridge comprising:a wireless network interface adapted to communicate over a secondwireless network; and a load interface adapted to connect to the bridgeinterface of the load controller to enable communication between theload controller and the second wireless network.
 2. The scalablebuilding control system of claim 1, wherein the load controller isfurther adapted to control the load device in response to the messagesreceived from the second wireless network.
 3. The scalable buildingcontrol system of claim 1, wherein the load device comprises a devicethat changes at least one environmental condition in the building. 4.The scalable building control system of claim 1, wherein the load devicecomprises at least one of a lighting device, a heating device, aventilation device, an air conditioning device, a shading device, asecurity device, an appliance, a door lock, an audiovisual device, andany combinations thereof.
 5. The scalable building control system ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one battery operated device comprises auser interface, wherein the at least one battery operated devicegenerates the load control messages based on input received via the userinterface.
 6. The scalable building control system of claim 1, whereinthe at least one battery operated device comprises an occupancy sensoradapted to detect an occupancy status of a zone and generate the loadcontrol messages based on the detected occupancy status.
 7. The scalablebuilding control system of claim 1, wherein the at least one batteryoperated device comprises a light sensor adapted to detect lightintensities in a zone and generate the load control messages based onthe detected light intensities.
 8. The scalable building control systemof claim 1, wherein the load controller comprises a power supply adaptedto power the network bridge via the bridge interface.
 9. The scalablebuilding control system of claim 1, wherein the power controller of theload controller comprises a switch adapted to switch the connected loaddevice on and off.
 10. The scalable building control system of claim 1,wherein the power controller of the load controller comprises a dimmeradapted to provide a dimmed voltage output signal to a connectedlighting load device.
 11. The scalable building control system of claim1, wherein each of the bridge interface and the load interface comprisesat least one of a plug and a port.
 12. The scalable building controlsystem of claim 1, wherein the first wireless network comprises apeer-to-peer radio frequency mesh wireless network.
 13. The scalablebuilding control system of claim 1, wherein the second wireless networkcomprises a radio frequency mesh wireless network.
 14. The scalablebuilding control system of claim 1, wherein the load controllercomprises a memory adapted to store status information about the atleast one battery operated device and the load device.
 15. The scalablebuilding control system of claim 14, wherein the load controllertransmits the status information to the network bridge for transmissionover the second wireless network.
 16. The scalable building controlsystem of claim 14, wherein the status information comprises at leastone of a channel of the first wireless network, type of the at least onebattery operated device, type of available output and input of thebattery operated device, a number of battery operated devices in a zone,a number of load devices in a zone, and any combinations thereof. 17.The scalable building control system of claim 1, wherein the loadcontroller comprises a housing comprising a threaded nipple configuredfor mounting the load controller to a junction box.
 18. The scalablebuilding control system of claim 1, wherein the load controllercomprises a recess, wherein the network bridge comprises a housing sizedand shaped to be recessed within the recess of the load controller. 19.The scalable building control system of claim 1 further comprising aremote control processor adapted to communicate with the network bridgeover the second wireless network.
 20. The scalable building controlsystem of claim 19, wherein the control processor is adapted tocommunicate to a plurality of network bridges over the second wirelessnetwork.
 21. The scalable building control system of claim 19, whereinthe control processor is adapted to communicate over the second wirelessnetwork via one or more wireless gateways.
 22. The scalable buildingcontrol system of claim 19, wherein the load controller comprises amemory adapted to maintain a zone status report comprising informationabout the load device and the at least one battery operated device,wherein the load controller transmits the zone status report to thenetwork bridge for transmission to the control processor over the secondwireless network.
 23. The scalable building control system of claim 19,wherein the control processor is adapted to generate and transmit remoteload control messages to the network bridge, wherein the load controlleris further adapted to control the load device in response to the remoteload control messages.
 24. The scalable building control system of claim23, wherein the control processor comprises a user interface, whereinthe control processor is adapted to generate the remote load controlmessages based on input received via the user interface.
 25. Thescalable building control system of claim 24, wherein the controlprocessor comprises a timeclock and a memory adapted to store aplurality of timed events, wherein the control processor is adapted togenerate the remote control messages based on the plurality of timedevents.
 26. The scalable building control system of claim 19, whereinthe control processor is adapted to transmit a firmware update to thenetwork bridge, wherein the network bridge is adapted to receive thefirmware update and store the firmware update as firmware images in amemory, wherein the network bridge transmits at least one firmware imageto the load controller, wherein the load controller transmit the atleast one firmware image to the at least one battery operated device.27. The scalable building control system of claim 1, wherein the firstwireless network comprises a low latency low bandwidth wireless networkadapted for substantially real-time communication.
 28. The scalablebuilding control system of claim 27, wherein the second wireless networkcomprises latency and bandwidth higher than the latency and bandwidth ofthe first wireless network.
 29. The scalable building control system ofclaim 27, wherein the second wireless network comprises a high latencyhigh bandwidth wireless network adapted for transmission of large amountof data.
 30. A scalable building control system comprising: at least onebattery operated device comprising: a processor adapted to generate loadcontrol messages; and a wireless network interface adapted to transmitthe load control messages over a zone wireless network; a loadcontroller electrically connected to an electric load device, the loadcontroller comprising: a wireless network interface adapted to receivethe load control messages over the zone wireless network; a powercontroller adapted to control the load device in response to thereceived load control messages; and a bridge interface; a network bridgeadapted to couple to the load controller, the network bridge comprising:a wireless network interface adapted to communicate over a centralizedwireless network; and a load interface adapted to connect to the bridgeinterface of the load controller to enable communication between theload controller and the centralized wireless network.
 31. A scalablebuilding control system comprising: a plurality of zone control systemseach comprising: one or more zone control devices each adapted togenerate and transmit load control messages over a zone wirelessnetwork; and a load controller adapted to receive the load controlmessages over the zone wireless network and control an electricallyconnected load device in response to the load control messages; and aplurality of network bridges each adapted to removably couple to atleast one load controller of a zone wireless network to connect the zonecontrol system as a node of a centralized wireless network, wherein eachnetwork bridge is adapted to transmit messages between the centralizedwireless network and a connected load controller.
 32. A scalablebuilding control system comprising: a plurality of zone control deviceseach adapted to join a zone wireless network and generate and transmitload control messages over the zone wireless network; a load controlleradapted to form the zone wireless network, receive the load controlmessages over the zone wireless network, and control an electricallyconnected electric load device in response to the load control messages;and a network bridge adapted to couple to the load controller, and uponcoupling to the load controller, receive power from the load controllerand join a centralized wireless network to enable communication betweenthe load controller and the centralized wireless network.
 33. A methodexecuted by a load controller of a scalable building control system, themethod comprising the steps of: forming a zone wireless network;receiving load control messages over the zone wireless network from oneor more zone control devices; controlling an electrically connectedelectric load device in response to the load control messages; detectinga connection to a network bridge via a bridge interface; powering thenetwork bridge via the bridge interface, wherein the bridge interface isadapted to join a centralized wireless network to receive centralizedcontrol messages; receiving the centralized control messages from thenetwork bridge; and controlling the load device in response to thecentralized control messages.